A flashing Check Engine light means that your vehicle’s PCM detects misfires that exceed an acceptable number. But how serious is it? Keep reading to learn how a Check Engine light works and what role the Misfire Monitor plays in determining which cylinder is misfiring. The First “Check Engine” … Read more
Finding your car with a broken car window in the morning is both frustrating and a huge disruption to your daily routine. It’s important to quickly cover up the damage until it can be properly fixed. This article guides you through simple steps to secure your vehicle quickly. Let’s dive … Read more
A dead key fob is irritating, but a replaced battery should get it working again, right? Not always. Even new batteries can fail to revive unresponsive key fobs. But don’t worry – the problem is likely an easy fix once the cause is identified. This article will explore the common … Read more
We’ve all been there – a dead car battery with no one around to help. Desperate to get your car running again, you retrieve the jumper cables from your emergency kit or find a good Samaritan who has a set and you quickly get to work. In the heat of … Read more
Maintenance is something that you must always deal with if you’re a car owner. There are so many internal parts and components of a vehicle and if any one of them were to become damaged or worn out, it will cost you a lot of money to replace those parts. … Read more
The average motorist gives little attention to their vehicle’s performance when all is operating as intended. However, this laid-back mentality quickly disappears the first time one’s vehicle bucks, jumps, or stutters when taking off from a stop or cruising at high speeds. In fact, the sudden onset of such symptoms … Read more
Transmission replacement can damage your budget. Car trouble can cost you dearly, especially if you ignore problems or put off repairs. Your car’s transmission transfers power from the engine to the wheels. When it fails, you might face thousands of dollars in repair costs, an expense you could have avoided … Read more
A vehicle’s ignition system is made up of numerous components, each of which plays a pivotal role in facilitating an engine’s combustion process. The failure of one or more of these components can severely hamper engine performance as a whole, even potentially leaving one stranded along the side of the … Read more
The average motorist is relatively familiar with their vehicle, quickly realizing when something is amiss. While this level of awareness is of significant benefit when attempting to minimize the impact of issues as they arise, it can also lead one to fret endlessly until the source of such issues is … Read more
Today’s internal combustion engines are far more equipped to sustain consistent operation than engines of yesteryear. Most notably, modern internal combustion engines come equipped with a host of specialty control modules, sensors, and intelligent devices, allowing them to adjust key operating criteria on the fly. Of all sensors found on … Read more
Some of the most critical, yet often overlooked of all mechanical components are those contained within a vehicle’s steering and suspension systems. These components are not only key to efficient vehicle operation, but serve an essential role in ensuring safe travels. However, in order to operate as intended, each of … Read more
As motorists, we often think about the value of our vehicles’ engines and transmissions. After all, a critical malfunction related to either of these essential components can quickly leave us stranded without recourse. However, we seldom give the same consideration to various structural components that are responsible for supporting the … Read more
There is little arguing against the notion that today’s vehicles are far cleaner for the environment to operate than those of yesteryear. Of course, reaching this level of cleanliness was not achieved overnight. In fact, efforts to reduce the internal combustion engine’s carbon footprint began in the early 1970s, when … Read more
The purchase of tires for any vehicle comes as a significant investment, requiring consumers to part with a fair sum of cash in any event. In order to make the most of such an investment, one must go to every length possible to maintain the condition of their vehicle’s tires. … Read more
You pull your car out of the driveway, then notice something unusual in the spot your car just left. There’s a small dark spot there, a small puddle of some vehicle fluid, and you don’t know what. Is it normal? Is it bad? There are a few different types of vehicle … Read more
Today’s internal combustion engines are relatively complex in nature, featuring some critical components, none any less valuable than the last. The vast majority of these components, as well as the systems they make up, have evolved significantly from what there were just 20-30 years prior. Perhaps no automotive system has … Read more
Our vehicles’ airbags are easily forgotten until their use is required to prevent significant injury in the event of a collision. This, of course, is an easy oversight to make. The vast majority of a vehicle’s airbag system is hidden away until it is deployed at a moment’s notice, leaving … Read more
Today’s vehicles are finely tuned pieces of equipment, featuring a wide array of individual components, all of which must function flawlessly to facilitate proper operation. If any one of these components were to fail, a number of serious mechanical issues could arise. One such component of value, which must function … Read more
A vehicle’s transmission is extremely vital to its overall operation, ultimately facilitating the delivery of engine-produced power to a vehicle’s drive wheels. Luckily, most of today’s transmissions are rather hearty by design, often lasting for the entire service life of a vehicle itself. However, achieving this level of longevity requires … Read more
There are few safety-sensitive automotive systems as vital as a car’s brakes. A vehicle’s brakes allow us to reduce our speed whenever necessary and stop quickly to avoid collisions. This is why it is essential that our brakes function flawlessly, under a wide array of circumstances. Unfortunately, like any other … Read more
Today’s vehicles come equipped with an ever-growing number of safety appliances, intended to keep motorists out of harm’s way. Many features and functions of this type are government mandated, and now come standard on virtually every vehicle manufactured. Few of these safety features and functions are as prevalent as the … Read more
There is little as alarming to the average motorist, as coming to the realization that their vehicle has begun making an odd noise. This is especially concerning if the source of this new noise is not easily distinguished. One cannot help but feel as if their vehicle is falling apart … Read more
Most motorists at least partially understand the function of a vehicle’s spark plugs, recognizing the importance of these pint-sized engine components. After all, a spark-ignition engine would be of little real value without a reliable source of spark. However, a spark plug is only able to function as intended, if … Read more
A vehicle’s engine is composed of parts too numerous to count, each of which plays a pivotal role in ensuring streamlined and efficient operation. On top of that, many of these individual components work in relation to one another, to perform a specific function. If any one of these components … Read more
A vehicle’s front end is composed of many different steering components, each of which plays a pivotal role in providing ample maneuverability. However, these components must all be in satisfactory condition to operate at an optimal level. This bears consideration, due to the fact that each of these components is … Read more
As most motorists are well aware, tires are anything but cheap to purchase and continue to increase in cost with each passing year. For this reason, it is easy to justify going through a little additional effort to ensure that your tires are maintained in the best way possible. This … Read more
Some of the most frustrating of all vehicle-related issues are those pertaining to mysterious noises, which often tend to get louder as time passes. Issues of this type can be maddening, as motorists search eagerly for the source of such noises, often to no avail. This, in turn, only intensifies … Read more
As motorists, we tend to know our vehicles quite well. This is why most motorists are able to recognize slight discrepancies in the way their vehicle runs, from one day to the next. We are often quick to pinpoint any issues that arise, due to our perception of symptoms related … Read more
For most motorists, the idea of starting their vehicle with the use of a key requires little in the way of additional thought. We expect to place our key in our vehicle’s ignition, when starting our vehicle, only to retrieve it upon reaching our destination. This is an elementary concept, … Read more
Few vehicle components are as significant in terms of operational value, as a transmission. Without a transmission, a vehicle would be incapable of delivering power to its drive-wheels, thereby making it impossible to commute from one location to another. A specialized lubricant, known simply as transmission fluid, is utilized to … Read more